I initially created Baseball Graphs to develop new and better ways of presenting baseball statistics. The 2003 season was my first full-season attempt, and it turned out pretty well. I now spend a lot of my time creating and formatting the baseball stats at The Hardball Times.
Along the way, I've also picked up the writing bug. I spend most of my energy writing for THT, but sometimes I like to write about more geeky stuff, baseball research and things like that. That's what this blog is for.
I'm very interested in graphics and other information display, so I'll probably post links to creative stuff like that. I also plan to write historical articles that complement the historical graphs. And I have inexplicably developed an interest in baseball win-related stats, such as Bill James's Win Shares and something called Win Probability Added. So you can expect a few posts about that stuff too.
If you're interested, I've created a complex spreadsheet full of WPA logic, which you can download at ftp.baseballgraphs.com/wpa. If you'd like to read more about Win Shares, try these links:
Win Shares Intro
Here’s an article that looks at the Hall of Fame chances of current players, using Win Shares as the criterion.
Here’s an article that looks at the Hall of Fame chances of current players, using Win Shares as the criterion.
It includes a nice list of current player’s total Win Shares—I didn’t realize Mark Grace has so many.
Also, it reinforces the idea that pitchers should be judged on a different scale, as we’ve suggested in the replacement level article. Compare and contrast Steve Finley and Randy Johnson, for instance.
Don’t worry. This article is a lot shorter than Mike’s Hall of Fame series.
Is it just me, or does it seem that WS doesn’t work as well at predicting HOF pitchers? The Unit and Pedro look to come in below a lot of the other candidates, yet seem much more likely to be enshrined than the guys surrounding them on the WS list.
Yes, I agree, David. I think the biggest thing I’ve learned this offseason is the need to calculate win shares above average, or replacement level. James said as much in the book. This one simple step would do a lot to equalize the difference between players and pitchers.
Maybe I’ll go back and see if I can compute historic Win Shares Above Average. In my spare time…
Hehe, don’t sweat it. Just call this another brick in the WSAA vs. WS wall. 
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